Alexander Miles

Alexander Miles is the inventor of automatic elevator doors. He was born May 18, 1838, in Pickaway County Ohio. He throughout the Midwest and became a barber in his adult years. He met his wife Candace J. Dunlap in Winona, Minnesota. She was a widow with two children and together they had one child, Grace Miles. Not too long after the birth of Grace, Miles relocated his family to Duluth, Minnesota where he eventually became the first black member of the Duluth Chamber of Commerce.

Miles opened a barbershop in a four-story hotel in St. Louis. He did so well that he used his savings to purchase a real estate office and got involved in real estate. He built a three-story brown stone, and the area became famously known as “Miles Block.” With growing success Miles grew concern for the safety hazards of riding elevators due to the spaces he occupied. The old tale goes, Grace (Miles’ daughter) fell down an elevator shaft and was severely injured. Thankfully she did not succumb to her injuries. This led Miles to work on a solution to the dangers of closing elevators doors improperly or not at all.

In 1887 Miles was granted a patten for the mechanism he invented for automatic elevator doors. Following his invention he relocated his family to Chicago. There he opened “The United Brotherhood” life insurance company. As it was difficult for African Americans to obtain coverage. Miles was one of the wealthiest black people prior to his passing May 7, 1918. As recently as 2007 Alexander Miles was inducted in the National Inventors Hall of Fame.

Thank you, Alexander Miles for your contributions to the culture!